The Adventures of Baby Rizzles
by propertyofjanerizzoli
Summary: A series of fluffy ficlets about elementary school Jane and Maura.
1. You Have To Be Nice

**A/N: A series of fluffy ficlets written from prompts sent to me on tumblr. Thanks for reading and I'll gladly accept reviews and requests. :)**

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The unwritten rule among Jane's classmates was that boys only played with boys and girls only played with girls. "That's how it has always been and always will be," one of the girls told her. "Boys are gross and they play weird games." But Jane saw nothing gross or weird about the games the boys were playing, especially when they pretended to be dinosaurs. They still needed a velociraptor and five-year-old Jane wasn't going to let anyone stop her from being that velociraptor.

It was a bold move, but Jane had done what no other kid in her class had ever done before; she had broken the gender barrier and, as far as her kindergarten class was concerned, Jane Rizzoli now ruled the playground. It was the happiest time in all of her five years, that is, until a girl named Maura transferred into her classroom in the middle of the school year.

"She gives me butterflies in my tummy," Jane told the group of boys she played with. "And she shared her fruit snacks with me yesterday. Does that mean she likes me?"

"Who cares?" one of the boys shrugged. "She's a girl and girls are gross."

Jane slugged him in the arm. "Girls aren't gross! I'm a girl!"

"Don't listen to him," another boy cut in. "Pull her pigtails. If you don't pull her hair, how is she going to know you like her?"

Jane considered it solid advice, so the next day she quickly yanked one of Maura's pigtails while she was eating lunch. She hadn't meant to hurt Maura, but she accidentally pulled so hard that Maura cried. "Maura, I'm sorry," Jane said, but it was too late. Their teacher intervened and Jane spent the rest of lunch and recess sitting in the corner while her classmates played outside.

Pulling Maura's hair had backfired, so Jane decided to take the next bit of advice her friends had given her: she was going to cut in front of Maura while she was in line for the slide. Jane was used to pushing and playing rough, so when Maura was about to take her turn on the slide, Jane pushed her out of the way and took a turn instead. _Now she knows I like her. _Jane was expecting Maura to pick herself up off the grass and run into her arms, but when she saw Maura's expression as she walked toward her, Jane wanted to run away as fast as she could and she would have had she not been paralyzed with fear.

"Why are you so mean to me?" Maura yelled. "I shared my fruit snacks! I let you use the red crayon first even though I needed the red crayon! I was always nice to you!"

Jane looked down at the ground. "I like you," she mumbled.

"What?"

She grabbed Maura's hands in hopes that it would emphasize what she was about to say. "I like you! I think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen and I was pulling your hair and pushing you so you'd know I like you."

Maura's eyes grew wide. "That's not what you're supposed to do, Jane. When you're mean to me, it makes me not want to play with you or share anything with you. If you want me to like you back, you have to be nice."

"I never liked being mean to you," Jane admitted. "If I'm nice, will you go on a date with me?"

"A date?" Maura asked. "But we can't even cross the street by ourselves."

"A recess date," Jane explained. "We'll have lunch together and then we'll play with any toys you want to play with and I'll let you get on the slide first."

When it was time for lunch the next day, Jane nearly jumped up from her seat and hurried to her cubby so she could grab Maura's gift. "Thank you for going on a date with me," Jane said as she handed Maura a flower and a bag of fruit snacks. It was the first of many nice gestures Jane showed Maura throughout their date and, when it was time for them to line up after recess, Jane received her very first kiss on the cheek.


	2. Kissing Behind The Bleachers

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews!**

**Tumblr prompt from kathyisweird : UM you should totes mcgoats write a fic about pre-teen Jane and maura sneaking behind the bleachers at a football game to give little kisses**

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Every autumn, Jane's Saturday mornings would be spent at the football field watching her younger brothers play Pop Warner football. Jane loved football, but watching her six and eight-year-old brothers run around on the football field paled in comparison to watching a Patriots game on TV. At ten-years-old, she was too young to stay at home by herself so she had no choice but to wake up early and go to the field with her family.

When the new football season began, Jane had expected to be just as bored with the games, but with a new season came a new distraction; Jane had noticed cheerleaders, one named Maura in particular. She wore the same uniform and hair ribbons as the other girls in her squad, but there was something about the way Maura looked in her cheerleading skirt that made Jane swoon.

They didn't go to the same school, so Jane's only opportunities to befriend this girl and eventually make her hers were on Saturdays during the football season. With each game day, Jane learned something new about Maura including the fact that cheerleading wasn't her first choice of extracurricular activities but her parents signed her up because they thought it'd give her a boost of confidence. Jane couldn't fathom how someone as beautiful and smart as Maura could lack confidence, but if confidence is what she needed, Jane was more than willing to help.

Before each game, Jane would meet Maura behind the bleachers to wish her luck and tell her something she liked about her and, with each compliment, Jane received a kiss on the cheek to thank her. She'd have complimented Maura without receiving kisses, but kissing Jane made Maura smile and Jane wanted nothing more than to see her favorite girl smile.

They had yet to exchange phone numbers, so Jane knew she had to act now or else she'd have to wait an entire year to confess her feelings to Maura. Her intentions were to give Maura a note with her phone number written on it, but on the final game day of the season, Jane realized she was ready to take the next step and make Maura her girlfriend.

Jane couldn't afford to buy a bouquet of roses for Maura, so she opted for a flower that she picked from her mother's garden and a lollipop from the snack bar at the football field with her phone number written on the wrapper.

Just as they did before every game, Jane met Maura at their secret meeting spot under the bleachers and, like always, Jane smiled uncontrollably the moment she saw Maura walk toward her with her pom poms in hand.

"Jane! I missed you!" Maura said as she flung her arms around Jane, her pom pom streamers tickling Jane's back. "I've been looking forward to seeing you all week." Jane had wanted to give Maura her flower, but when Maura started kissing her cheek, Jane decided to enjoy the affections she was receiving from her favorite girl.

One kiss on the cheek turned into five minutes of hugging and kissing each other on the cheek and Jane realized it wouldn't be long before her parents started looking for her. "I have to go soon, but I have a flower for you."

"A flower?" Maura smiled. "Nobody has ever given me a flower before."

"For my favorite cheerleader," Jane said as she handed Maura the flower and the lollipop she had brought for her. "And my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend?"

Jane hadn't meant to say those last words aloud just yet, but now that she had she realized she couldn't stall any longer. "Will you be my girlfriend? I wrote my phone number on the lollipop wrapper, so even if you don't want to answer me now you can call me later and answer me."

"Jane," Maura giggled. "Watch me cheer. You'll get your answer then."

Instead of sitting with her parents during the game, Jane climbed down to the front of the bleachers so she could watch Maura cheer up close. Throughout the first and second quarters, Maura smiled at her and blew her kisses whenever she was given an opportunity and, as much as Jane loved the special attention, she was still anxious to know Maura's answer.

There was a ten-minute break during halftime and Maura ran over to Jane the moment the whistle blew so as not to waste any time.

"Maura, will you—" Jane began to ask again, but she was interrupted by Maura quickly pressing her lips against hers for their very first kiss.

"Give me a 'J'!" Maura cheered just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

"J!" Jane continued to play along until they had finished spelling her name.

"What's that spell?" Maura cheered.

"Jane!"

"Who is my girlfriend?"

Jane's eyes grew wide. "Jane? That's a yes?"

"Y-e-s!" Maura giggled.

They spent the rest of halftime holding hands and, when it was time for the game to start again, Jane was completely smitten as she watched her girl cheer.


	3. Jane Loses Her First Tooth

**Tumblr prompt from kathyisweird: elementary school Jane is crying in the stalls of the girls room because she is losing a tooth and she's scared. So, Maura explains the benefits of losing a baby tooth and makes it all better :D**

Her best friend Jane left abruptly during recess to go to the bathroom, so Maura took it upon herself to save Jane's favorite tricycle for her before any of the other kids in their kindergarten class claimed it. Before touching the tricycles, Maura pulled out an antibacterial wipe from her _Frozen_ purse and used it to sanitize the handlebars on both tricycles. She had witnessed her classmates wiping their noses on their hands and then touching the playground equipment and, when she told her mom, Mrs. Isles made sure to keep her daughter fully supplied with antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer at all times.

"It must be hard being you," Jane said the first time she saw Maura wipe down the handlebars, but instead of making fun of her she decided to use the antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer if it meant Maura would feel more comfortable when they played.

When five minutes had passed and Jane had yet to return to the playground, Maura decided it was time to check on her. Jane had been a good friend to her since the first day of school and, if Jane needed her, Maura was going to do all she could to help.

She opened the door to the bathroom and saw Jane standing by the sink with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her best friend Jane was the toughest kid in class and, if something had made Jane cry, Maura feared the worst. "Jane, are you okay?"

"No," Jane sobbed. Maura noticed her reach into her pocket and pull something out.

"It's a tooth!" Maura exclaimed after taking a closer look. "Jane, you lost a tooth!"

"I know," Jane said worriedly. "I tried putting it back in, but it won't stay. Maura, help me. I'm scared."

Maura paid no mind to germs and held Jane's unsanitized hand. "Don't be scared, Jane. This is a Deciduous tooth."

"Maura," Jane groaned. "You're using big words again."

"A baby tooth," Maura informed her. "You're supposed to lose these. Your baby teeth loosen as the roots dissolve and clear the way for permanent teeth."

"So, it's okay?" Jane asked, nervously.

"Everybody loses their baby teeth," Maura pointed out. "It's a sign that you're not a baby anymore and you're becoming a big kid. You're the first in our class to lose a tooth, Jane! I think we should tell the teacher!"

Jane didn't want anyone to make a fuss over her, but it was too late. Maura had already led her to their teacher and told her everything that had happened.

As the first kid in their class to lose a tooth, Jane received special treatment that day. Their teacher let her tell the class what happened and Jane felt like a big kid as she answered their questions about losing baby teeth and whether or not it hurt. When her impromptu question and answer session was over, Jane received a felt pouch with her name on it so she could keep her tooth safely stored until the tooth fairy visited her.

"You're so brave," Maura said after kissing Jane's cheek for the very first time while they waited for their moms to pick them up.

She had gotten her first kiss and, later that night, the tooth fairy was going to leave some money under her pillow just for her. _I'm going to like being a big kid._


	4. Jane Doesn't Understand Women

**Tumblr prompt: Constance and Angela having coffee together while watching their daughters, and having a laugh watching Jane keep trying to hold Maura's hand and things, and maybe maura doesn't want to hold hands or is crazy into playing with some blocks, and Jane is just like, flopping down in defeat**

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Now that Maura was five, she felt as if she was old enough to play at Jane's house instead of running errands with her mom on weekends, so when Jane invited her over to play that afternoon, Maura nearly begged her mom until she said yes.

It was Maura's first time away from her parents outside of school, so when her mom dropped her off, Jane and Angela were surprised to see that she had a backpack with her instead of just a stuffed animal or her favorite toy.

"Maura, there's no school today," Jane said while looking at Maura's backpack.

"Did you bring all your favorite toys?" Angela smiled at Maura.

"I forgot her toys," Constance nearly gasped. "The backpack is filled with her necessities. There's medicine if she gets a stomach ache or if she starts sniffling. If her throat starts hurting, there are some cough drops and if she gets a cut there's bandages and antibiotic ointment. I also added snacks that she can share with Jane. Maura likes trail mix and dried banana chips."

Jane imagined anything, even her own boogers, would taste better than the snacks Maura had brought and she made a mental note to offer Maura some cookies and fruit punch during snack time.

"Maura, I got new LEGOs," Jane said in hopes of changing the subject from medicine and healthy snacks.

LEGOs were Maura's favorite toy and, just by mentioning them, Jane had made Maura feel better about being away from her mom for the afternoon. "Bye, Mommy!" Maura said as she hurried to the LEGO set Jane had dumped from its container onto the living room carpet. "I'll see you at six. I love you!"

Maura was already building a LEGO house with Jane, but Constance was still watching over her little girl. "I've never left her before," she told Angela. "What if she misses me or thinks I'm leaving her because I don't love her?"

"You leave her for three hours a day, five days a week at her kindergarten class," Angela pointed out. "And look at her building a house. She doesn't even realize you're still standing here." Angela noticed that she still hadn't stopped watching Maura. "Have a seat, I'll bring you some coffee and we can talk while you work up the nerve to leave Maura for the first time."

Constance had finally felt at ease until she heard an "Ow!" from her little girl. "Maura, darling, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Mommy," Maura responded without taking her eyes off of the house she was building. "I just put my hand on a LEGO."

"Children aren't porcelain dolls. They don't break as easily as you think," Angela said as she handed Constance a cup of coffee. "Try having Janie as a daughter. She gets a new cut or scrape every time she plays outside, but all I have to do is bandage her up and send her right back out there and she's fine."

Jane overheard their mothers talk about them, but Maura was too wrapped up in building a house to pay attention. She had hoped they'd go to the kitchen or her baby brother Tommy would wake up from his nap to distract them, but much to her dismay neither happened and she was forced to hold off on her plan.

An hour had passed and their mothers were still talking to each other about parenting tips and other subjects Jane didn't care about, so she decided they were distracted enough for her to go through with her plan. _Be brave. You've done this before._

Jane ever so slowly inched her way toward Maura and grabbed her hand, but the moment their hands touched, Maura pulled away from Jane. Her every move was thwarted and Jane was left to wonder what she was doing wrong.

"Jane, I'm building a house," Maura said as she pulled her hand away yet again.

"But the house is fine," Jane pointed out. "It's time to hold hands."

"We can be girlfriends later. It's time for LEGOs."

"Ugh," Jane groaned and, after another failed attempt, she flopped face down in defeat.

"Janie?" Angela asked. "What are you groaning about now?"

"I don't understand women," Jane mumbled, still face down on the carpet.

"What?" Angela tried not to laugh.

"I don't understand _women_," Jane enunciated. "They're your girlfriend one minute and the next they just want to play LEGOs instead of holding hands, but when you're trying to ride your tricycle that's when they want to hold hands and play house. I don't understand any of this!"

Constance and Angela had tried not to laugh earlier, but Jane's outburst had them in hysterics.

"And just how do I deal with this?" Constance asked Angela.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Angela smiled. "I didn't expect them to be a couple for at least another ten years."


	5. What Does Adopt Mean

**A/N: Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there! :)**

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Five-year-old Maura was an inquisitive child, so when they were looking at her baby book on Mother's Day and she saw photos of herself as a baby and a toddler but none of her mom when she was pregnant with her, her first instinct was to ask why. "My best friend Jane's mommy has pictures when Jane was in her tummy. Why aren't there any of you when I was in _your _tummy?"

Constance smiled when she heard her daughter's euphemisms and, under different circumstances, she would have preferred to tell her the correct word was 'stomach'. She didn't like her daughter to be misinformed, so she'd try to be as informative as possible with Maura and, if Maura had a question she didn't know the answer to, they'd do research together until Maura understood it, but she knew this question couldn't be answered simply by telling her where babies come from. Regardless of how thorough-yet age-appropriate-her explanation would be, she knew it would still end with Maura asking why there were no pictures of her when she was in her womb.

Maura was waiting for an answer, so Constance held her little girl on her lap and explained to her that even if she didn't give birth to her, it didn't mean that she loved her any less. "Someone else carried you in her...tummy." Hearing herself misinform her daughter nearly made Constance cringe, but she knew there were more pressing matters than proper terminology and scientific accuracy.

"If I was in another woman's tummy, then why isn't she my mommy? Didn't she love me?" Maura asked and the thought of her daughter feeling unloved nearly broke Constance's heart.

She leaned in to kiss her on her forehead. "She loved you very much, darling, so much that she made sure you were healthy when you were in her tummy, but loving someone means doing what's best for them and, although she loved you so much, she felt as if your father and I could take better care of you than she could, so we decided to adopt you."

"Mommy?" Maura asked. "What does adopt mean?"

"Adopt," Constance hesitated so she could choose her words. "Adopt means even though I didn't carry you in my tummy, I still wanted to be your mommy so I made a promise to be the best mommy I can be and love you no matter what."

"Does that mean I adopted Bass?"

"Did you carry Bass in your tummy?"

"No," Maura giggled. "Mommy, that's impossible. I'm a person and Bass is a baby tortoise and I'm still little."

"A hatchling," Constance informed her. "A baby tortoise is called a hatchling. Bass came from an egg and eggs hatch. That will help you remember the word 'hatchling.'"

"Hatchling," Maura repeated. The word sounded funny to her, so she carefully pronounced each syllable until it sounded more pleasing to her ears. "I adopted Bass just like you adopted me. Bass didn't come from my tummy, but I love him and make sure he eats and, because I can't hug Bass, I pet his shell to let him know I love him and he's a good tortoise."

Constance tickled her little girl, which made her giggle even more than she did earlier. "He's a good tortoise and you're a good mommy to him."

"Mommy?" Maura said as she rested her head on her mom's shoulder. "You didn't carry me in your tummy, but you still love me and take care of me and do all the things that mommies do like teach me new words and tell me bedtime stories and play with me. I think you're the best mommy in the world and I love you so much and I'm glad you adopted me. Happy Mother's Day, Mommy. I love you."

"I love you, too." She knew Maura wouldn't always be this eager to cuddle, so she took advantage of holding her little girl while she still could.

After a minute Maura had already become anxious. "Can we play tea party now?" Maura asked, but she was out the door before Constance could even respond to her question.

She may not have given birth to her, but five years ago, she was given the opportunity to be Maura's mommy and, although parenting wasn't always easy, she cherished every moment spent with her little girl.


	6. Daddy's Little All Star

Now that Jane was five, the Rizzoli family's weekends were devoted to Jane's T-ball games, especially during the All-Star season. Out of the hundred or so girls in the t-ball division, only fifteen were chosen to be on the all-star team and Frank and Angela were thrilled when their little Janie was chosen as one of those fifteen girls. With three-year-old Frankie and one-year-old Tommy needing constant supervision, Angela wasn't always able to attend Jane's tournaments, so game days often became daddy/daughter days and that Father's Day Jane was determined to make her dad even more proud of her than he already was.

Just as she did every morning she had a game, Jane woke up before her parents and her brothers because she was too excited to sleep. As much as she hated missing the Red Sox game to take a bath the night before, Jane was grateful for it now because she was able to change straight into her uniform from her pajamas. Jane was still too little to reach the clothes hanging in her closet, but Angela made sure to keep Jane's uniform in a drawer so her independent little tomboy could always have access to it.

With her uniform on and her cleats double-knotted, all that was missing was her cap. _My cap! I left it downstairs! And I still have to put my hair in a ponytail. _Angela was more than willing to comb her daughter's hair, but combing through Jane's curls was no easy task.. "I can do it myself," Jane would tell her and Angela soon realized that letting Jane put her own hair in a ponytail was so much less difficult than dealing with a squirming five-year-old.

Jane was an independent child, but there was still one thing stopping her: a barrier that she had nicknamed Jane Jail. Every night, Frank put up a removable barrier that prevented his daughter from going downstairs in the middle of the night. Before the barrier had been put up, Jane would occasionally sneak downstairs to the kitchen in the middle of the night to grab cookies from the pantry. She would have continued to get away with it had she not tried to get soda from the refrigerator and accidentally broken a glass pitcher that was next to the soda bottle. Frank and Angela heard a the sound of glass breaking and, assuming it was an intruder, Frank made Angela stay upstairs with the kids while he went to downstairs to see what happened. Instead of an intruder, he found a wide-eyed little Jane in the kitchen who attempted to make a run for it until he snatched her up and put her in their bed for the night so they could both keep an eye on her.

Jane could be rambunctious and had a tendency to get into everything, but she was his Janie-his pride and joy-and he enjoyed every second that she spent following him around or sitting on the couch watching sports with him.

"Daddy!" Frank heard his daughter shout. "Daddy, help! I'm in Jane Jail and I need to get my cap!"

"You wouldn't be in Jane Jail if you didn't sneak out for cookies and soda in the middle of the night," Franke tried to tell her, but once he opened the gate, Jane ran past him and headed downstairs for her cap.

While at bat that day, Jane accidentally hit the stand instead of the ball. It was unlike her to do so and Frank realized that nerves were getting the best of his daughter that day.

"I'm just trying to make you proud today," Jane told him after her at-bat. "It's Father's Day."

"You always make me proud," he reassured her. "No matter what you do, I'll always love you and be proud of you. You're my little Janie."

"I love you, too, Daddy, but I'm not little," Jane giggled. "I'm five. That means I'm a big girl now."

She may have just been five-years-old, but the thought of Jane growing up was something that Frank wasn't ready for. She was still at the age where he was her hero and she was content with watching sports with him and playing catch outside, but he knew there'd come a time when Jane would choose her friends or boys-or maybe even girls now that he thought about how she blushed every time she was around her friend Maura-over him and he'd have to settle for the little glimpses into her life that she'd allow him to have.

Once her nervousness subsided, Frank noticed that Jane was back to her old self and he wasn't surprised when his little girl scored the winning run and was given the game ball as a game day souvenir.

"This is for you, Daddy," Jane said as she handed him the ball. "Happy Father's Day."

He imagined that ball displayed on the mantle over the fireplace and hearing Jane tell the story of why she was given the game ball, but when he looked near the dugout he noticed someone that would cherish that ball just as much as he would.

"I think there's someone who is just as much a fan of yours as I am," Frank said while turning his daughter around so she could see Maura waiting for her. Maura wasn't a softball player, so Frank knew she had gotten her parents to bring her to the field just so she could watch Jane play.

Without another word, Jane rushed over to Maura and gave her the ball. "This is for you," she said.

"Thank you," Maura smiled. "Can you sign it for me? I'll have a signed ball from my girlfriend who is going to be a famous athlete someday."

_Girlfriend? _Frank was caught off guard. He knew Jane was going to grow up eventually, but he was nowhere near ready for her to be having crushes let alone a girlfriend.

When Maura left, Jane wiped her cheek and hurried over to where her dad was standing. "Yuck," Jane said as she continued to wipe her cheek. "Kissing is gross. I like holding hands, but why didn't anybody tell me that girlfriends kiss on the cheek? I'm never going to like that."

He knew she'd change her mind once junior high came around, but at that moment, he realized he still had his little Janie-his sidekick-for at least a few more years.


	7. BatJane

**A/N: Thank you to Aaliayah13 for requesting a trick-or-treating ficlet. :)**

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First grade was the most exciting time in Jane and Maura's young lives for two reasons: they were now able to play on the 'big kids' playground during recess instead of the Kindergarten playground and they were finally allowed to have a sleepover after trick-or-treating.

For weeks, Jane and Maura planned their costumes, but they were so excited about Halloween that their costume choices changed on a daily basis until the beginning of October when their moms told them they had to make their final decision. Maura chose Elsa and, regardless of how much her mom told her to choose a more feminine costume, Jane's heart was set on being Batman or BatJane as she liked to call herself. Maura already considered Jane to be the bravest kid she knew and the thought of seeing her in a superhero costume gave her butterflies in her tummy. _BatJane...my hero._

When the doorbell rang, Jane raced to the door, but Angela scooped her up in just in time. "It's Maura," Jane said as she tried to squirm out of her mother's arms.

"You're still too little to open the door by yourself."

"But I'm BatJane," Jane argued. "I'm not afraid of anything."

"BatJane or not, you still know the rules," Angela said while holding tight to her little girl. "No answering the door by yourself until you're tall enough to look out of the peephole...without standing on a chair."

Just as Jane had expected, it was Maura at the door and she looked as beautiful as ever in her Elsa costume. She saw that Maura had no candy in her plastic jack-o-lantern pail, so Jane grabbed a Bite Size Snickers and dropped it into the pail. "I'm the first to give you candy," Jane blushed.

Maura thanked her with a kiss on the cheek that Jane tried to wipe off as soon as nobody was looking. _Kisses are yucky._

"You look so pretty, Maura," Angela said while Jane placed Maura's overnight bag on the sofa. "I told Janie she should have worn a pretty costume like that."

"And be a princess?" Jane asked in disbelief. "Really, Ma? Really?"

"A princess?" Maura raised her eyebrow. "I'm not a princess. I'm a queen! Elsa was coronated."

Jane put on her mask so Maura couldn't see her blush. "You're my queen and I'm your BatJane and now it's time to trick-or-treat before all the candy is gone."

Angela tried to reassure Jane that there'd be plenty of candy, but Jane wasn't going to take her word for it. She pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her pail to show her mom. "This is a map of every house we have to go to," Jane pointed out. "It's Halloween, is serious business."

Jane and Maura went from house to house with four-year-old Frankie trailing behind them in his Superman costume, but no matter how many times he told them to wait up, Jane refused to slow down until Angela intervened. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli," Angela called out when Frankie started to cry. "If you don't wait for your brother, you're going home right now!"

With her pail only half-full, Jane decided it was probably better to wait for Frankie than go home, so she slowed down and tried not to let Maura notice her sulking. But there were benefits to slowing down or so Jane learned when Maura held her hand. With Maura holding her hand, Jane felt as if she could do anything, including entering the haunted house her neighbors had set up.

"Janie, you're too little for the haunted house," Angela told her once she heard the recorded chainsaw noises and older kids screaming and laughing.

"Janie is little," Jane pointed out. "But tonight, I'm not Janie. I'm BatJane and BatJane can do anything."

"BatJane is the bravest kid I know," Maura said in her defense, but it did nothing to change Angela's mind and she grabbed Jane the moment she tried to run toward the haunted house.

"But I'm BatJane," she struggled to say as Angela held onto her. Even with her little arms outstretched as far as they could go, Jane realized it was a lost cause.

When their pails were full, Jane knew it was time to go home and she carried both her pail and Maura's during the walk home to show off how strong and chivalrous she could be regardless of how heavy the pails were.

Although they were finished trick-or-treating, Jane and Maura weren't ready for Halloween to end, so after Angela helped Maura take off her make-up, the girls changed into their pajamas and watched _Goosebumps _on Maura's iPad until they felt sleepy.

"Thank you for keeping me safe on Halloween, BatJane," Maura whispered to her sleepy superhero.


	8. Dr Squirrelenstein

**Prompt from eblairproject on tumblr: Baby Jane teaches baby Maura how to play superheroes... by pretending she needs SuperMaura to rescue her from the evil Dr. Squirrelenstein and his minions, a group of particularly fluffy-tailed squirrels who frequently hang out around Jane's favorite climbing tree in baby Rizzles' secret spot.**

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Five-year-old Jane Rizzoli was well-liked among her kindergarten classmates. She always shared her toys, made sure no one played alone when they didn't want to, and recently she had begun policing the playground at recess to keep it free of bullies. Jane walked with her head held high, but that would always change the moment she set foot in her backyard because, in her backyard, lived the enemy. The evil Dr. Squirrelenstein and his minions had taken over Jane's tree and she knew it was up to her and her trusty sidekick Maura to restore peace in the backyard.

Jane had originally intended on sharing her tree with the squirrels in her backyard, but every time she'd climb her favorite tree, Dr. Squirrelenstein and his minions would steal the snacks she left down below. Realizing their evil plan, Jane soon decided to take her snacks with her as she climbed, but it was of no avail. The moment she turned away, her snacks would be snatched by Dr. Squirrelenstein's minions. Over the past few days, they had stolen grapes, trail mix, and some peanuts, but when he stole a piece of her fluffernutter, that was the final straw.

"The evil Dr. Squirrelenstein stole my fluffernutter," Jane brought to Maura's attention. "I need that for energy. I'm powerless now and I might not make it."

Maura was confused at the sight of her best friend lying on the grass with her arm shielding her face. "Dr. Squirrelenstein? Is that the squirrel that just took your sandwich? Jane, your mom can make you another one."

"Maura," Jane groaned. "We're playing superheroes and you have to save me,"

"How do I do that?" Maura asked. "They're just squirrels and they're not harming us."

"It's a trick," Jane said urgently. "They're planning their next attack and you have to secure the area before they come back. Hurry, Maura. There's not much time! Use your magic shoes!"

Maura knew it was only make believe, but the thought of having magic shoes was intriguing. "Okay, Jane. I'll use my magic shoes to keep the squirrels away."

She began walking along the perimeter of tree, stomping her feet every now and then to send shockwaves throughout the area. The harder she stomped the further the shockwaves travelled and the more secure they became. Maura knew the shockwaves were pretend, but the dirt on her shoes was real and she stopped as soon as she noticed it. "It's secure now."

"Now I need a fluffernutter," Jane told her while writhing on the ground. "Please, Maura. I need my strength. They didn't steal yours. You can give it to me and-"

"Wait," Maura interrupted. "You're just trying to get my sandwich! You're no better than Dr. Squirrelenstein!"

"My sidekick has turned against me," Jane gasped. "The squirrels are using mind control."

"Mind control? You're the one trying to get my sandwich!"

"But we're pretending!"

"Oh, Jane," Maura giggled. "You have a lot in common with Dr. Squirrelenstein and his minions. You're both hungry and trying to get food, but they can't go in the kitchen like you can."

"You're ruining the game, Maura."

"No," Maura shook her head. "I'm restoring peace in the backyard by feeding the hungry squirrels."

Jane and Maura grabbed a can of mixed nuts from the kitchen and returned to the tree so they could feed the squirrels. "One for the squirrels and one for me," Jane said before putting a peanut in her mouth.

After they were fed, the squirrels let Jane and Maura climb the tree in peace just as Maura had hoped.

"You were right!" Jane said as they sat on the highest branch that Jane's parents allowed them to climb. "You got our tree back and you saved me, Super Maura."


	9. Playing House

**Anonymous prompt: ****kid-jane and kid-maura playing house!**

* * *

The weather had gotten cold, so Mrs. Isles told Jane and Maura that they'd have to spend the remainder of their playdate indoors. They'd never played inside her room before, but judging by what Maura had told her she knew Maura's toys were completely different from her own and Jane's mind filled with worry over whether or not she'd have to play with something educational like a math app on Maura's iPad.

"How about if we play house?" Maura asked. "I'm a doctor and your wife."

Jane would have rather played Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots or one of the games she had at home, but the opportunity to be Dr. Maura's wife was too good to pass up. "Okay, we'll play house. What's my job?"

"You're a goalie for the Bruins," Maura said as she looked at the kid-sized jersey Jane was wearing. _I'm a goalie and Maura is my wife!_

They were married and they had their dream jobs, but everything else grown-ups did seemed like no fun at all to Jane. She didn't want to change a baby's diapers like she saw her mom do with her baby brother Tommy and she didn't want to clean up messes like the ones her little brother Frankie made every time he spilled his juice because he insisted on using a 'big kids' cup. "Let's not have a baby," Jane insisted.

"That's fine," Maura smiled. "Not all married people have babies. We are focused on our careers and don't have time for children."

"So now what do we do?" Jane asked.

"We eat dinner," Maura said matter-of-factly. "While sitting down for dinner, we can talk about our recent investments and 401(k) plan."

Whenever Jane witnessed other children playing house, one of them always pretended to be a baby and another would be a puppy and they'd giggle the whole time. She had never heard anything about investments or a 401(k), but as Maura's wife she decided to give it a try.

"Darling, have you checked the NASDAQ today?" Maura asked while pretending to sip tea from the expensive cups that were part of her tea set. "Our stocks are up 1.75 percent."

"Cool," Jane smiled. "Does that mean we're winning?"

"The stock market is not a sport," Maura giggled. "Although, my daddy acts like it is."

"Maura, this is boring," Jane groaned. "And this isn't how you play house. My mommy and daddy don't talk like this. When they aren't talking about me and my brothers, they talk about sports and having barbecues and things they did when they were young and they make each other laugh."

"Oh," Maura averted her eyes. "This is how my mommy and daddy talk. They don't talk about sports, we don't go to barbecues, and I never hear them laugh when I'm around."

It dawned on Jane that growing up in the Rizzoli house was a completely different experience from growing up in the Isles house. There were no stains on the carpet from spilled juice, none of Maura's artwork was displayed on the refrigerator, and there were no colorful, plastic toys in the living room. If Jane didn't know any better, she would have assumed a child didn't live there and she wondered if that was why Maura preferred being at the Rizzoli house instead of her own. At the Rizzoli house, she could act like a kid and run around with Jane and Frankie instead of spending hours in her room with no one to play with because her parents were always too busy for her.

"Okay, Maura. We can play house your way," Jane said to spare Maura's feelings.

Maura placed her hand on top of Jane's. "We don't have to talk about the stock market. We can also discuss art and literature and current affairs. Have you read any interesting books lately?"

"Ummm...I read _Green Eggs &amp; Ham_."

"So did I!" Maura said excitedly. "At first, I didn't like that Sam I Am."

"Me neither," Jane scowled. "If someone doesn't want to eat the green eggs and ham, don't make them eat the green eggs and ham."

"But he ended up liking green eggs and ham," Maura pointed out. "And I think that's an important lesson." She paused to determine whether or not Jane was still engaged in the conversation. "Jane, we're discussing literature like adults!"

"And it's not that bad," Jane added. "What are your thoughts on _The Cat In The Hat_?"


	10. Friday The 13th

**Prompt from sashaalexanderisalesbianatheart on tumblr: 5 year old Jane+Maura - Jane believing "step on a crack, break your mothers back." - Maura trying to convince her it wouldn't happen.**

Next to Halloween and trips to the dentist's office, Friday the 13th was the scariest day for little Jane. Regardless of where she went, there was the possibility of being cursed by bad luck. It was only three in the afternoon and she had already spilled juice on her favorite shirt, gotten a splinter from her treehouse, and scraped her knee after tripping over her untied shoelaces. She was experiencing the unluckiest day of her five-year-old life and she was convinced it was all because of Friday the 13th.

Jane always avoided walking under ladders, opening umbrellas indoors, and crossing paths with black cats because she thought they were bad luck, but now that it was Friday the 13th she was even more careful to avoid those actions so as not to add to her already unlucky day.

The only good luck Jane had was a visit from her best friend Maura because Mr. and Mrs. Isles were having a date night and the only place Maura felt comfortable enough to spend the evening was at the Rizzoli house where she could play with her best friend Jane instead of having to keep quiet like she did whenever she stayed with one of her parents' friends.

Whenever Maura visited Jane on warm days, they'd ride their bikes, play jump rope or climb trees, so Maura was taken by surprise when she noticed her adventurous best friend sigh before plopping down on the grass.

"Jane, are you okay?" Maura asked as she lied down next to her, completely unphased by any potential grass stains. "Why don't you want to play anything?"

Jane ran her little hands along the grass. "I'm just going to stay in the grass. The grass can't hurt me." Or so she thought until an ant bit her leg. "Ouch! Is nothing safe today?"

"It's almost summer," Maura informed her. "There's going to be ants in the grass and maybe even some spiders."

"I'm not afraid of no spiders," Jane huffed. "Today is Friday the 13th and I'm just having bad luck."

"There's no such thing as bad luck," Maura said as she looked at Jane's ant bite. Mrs. Isles never let Maura play outside without her care kit complete with Band-Aids, sunblock, insect repellent, and hydrocortisone cream, so she searched her care kit for the hydrocortisone cream to apply to Jane's ant bite.

When Maura was finished, Jane made sure to thank her with a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Dr. Maura. The itchies are gone."

Jane explained everything that had happened to her that day, but Maura still wasn't convinced. "There's no such thing as bad luck, Jane. What you experienced are a series of coincidences." Jane jumbled the word a few times before Maura decided to intervene. "Coincidences are events that happen without being connected to or caused by another event. You had bad things happen to you, but that doesn't mean today is an unlucky day. These things just...happened."

When Maura put her kit back on the front porch, Jane noticed she walked without caring she had stepped on the cracks in the cement. "Maura, no!"

Maura was startled by Jane's reaction. "What's the matter?"

"You stepped on a crack," Jane pointed out. "Don't you know the rule? '_Step on a crack, break your mother's back.' _What if you just broke your mother's back?"

"Jane," Maura giggled. "That's a superstition, not a rule. People step on cracks in the sidewalk all the time and their mothers' backs aren't broken because of it." Maura looked at Mrs. Rizzoli using her phone on the porch. "Your mother is right there, Jane. If you step on a crack, you'll see that nothing will happen to her."

"Okay, I'll try," Jane said, although she hesitated to step on a crack in the cement. _Maura's the smartest kid I know and if she says everything will be okay then that means everything will be okay. _

"You can close your eyes," Maura suggested. "That might help."

Maura was right; closing her eyes helped and when she opened them she saw that her foot was on a crack in the cement and her mom was completely unharmed. "Maura, nothing happened!"

Maura flung her arms around Jane. "I told you nothing would happen and I could never lie to you. Ask your mom if we can go next door."

"Why?" Jane asked, not wanting Maura to let go from their hug.

"Your neighbor has a black kitten!" Maura said excitedly. "We can pet it and prove another superstition wrong!"

_Two superstitions in one day? _"How about if we hold hands and have a picnic instead?"


	11. Piano Jane

**Prompt from Detective Marx: can you show kid Jane trying to learn piano for Maura**

It was a warm summer day and every child in the neighborhood was playing outside, except for Jane and Maura. Angela had drawn a hopscotch design on the cement in the backyard because it was one of Jane and Maura's favorite outdoor activities other than riding their bikes, but that day the hopscotch design went untouched and the bike that Maura kept at the Rizzoli house was still in the garage next to Jane's.

For hours, the girls remained in the living room with Jane at the piano and Maura reading Dr. Seuss books on the couch and occasionally gazing at Jane. "You play so beautifully," Maura remarked. Jane had only taken two piano lessons and knew only a few notes, but those few notes were enough to mesmerize little Maura.

"It's a beautiful day outside," Angela said to them. "Go play hopscotch or ride your bikes with the other kids."

"We can't," Maura whispered. "Jane is practicing and she needs to focus."

Angela watched her little girl look intently at the piano keys, the tip of her tongue just slightly peeking out the side of her mouth as she continued to play. "Janie, your next lesson isn't for another five days," Angela reminded her. "It's important for little kids to play outside instead of being cooped up."

"We're not little kids," Maura giggled.

Jane stopped playing the piano for the first time since their conversation began. "Yeah," she agreed. "We're five. We almost can't count our age on one hand."

"Jane and I are getting married," Maura brought to her attention. "She's going to play at our wedding."

Angela couldn't contain her laughter. "Alright, Janie. I'll let you practice for the next twenty years."

"Okay, Ma," Jane snickered.

As soon as she was certain Angela wouldn't be able to hear them, Maura took a seat next to Jane so she could rest her head on her shoulder. "Does your mom know our friends are all coming over tomorrow for our wedding?"

"Nope," Jane said while putting her fingers on the keys again.

"Should we to tell her?"

"Nah," Jane shook her head. "She'll find out when our guests get here."


	12. A Baby Rizzles Wedding

**A/N: I got a few requests for a sequel to Piano Jane, so here's Jane and Maura's wedding. :)**

Five-year-old Jane used to consider her first trip to Fenway Park to be the greatest day of her life. She had a hot dog, the Red Sox won, and her dad bought her a child-sized jersey to wear to the game, but even that day paled in comparison to her wedding day.

Maura arrived at her house that afternoon in her favorite dress and, although it didn't coordinate with Maura's attire, Jane decided to wear some shorts and the Red Sox jersey her dad had bought her. _I'm all ready to get married now._

"Our guests need snacks," Maura reminded her.

"I'll get them," Jane insisted. "My pretty bride can't get her dress dirty."

Jane was too small to reach the cookie jar, so she grabbed the only accessible snacks: a bag of potato chips that she sloppily ripped open and dumped into a plastic salad bowl.

"We need to serve dinner, too," Maura said worriedly. "Our guests need more than chips."

Angela walked into the kitchen with one-year-old Tommy in her arms. "Girls, what are you doing in here?"

"Getting chips," Jane said as she popped a chip in her mouth. "Can you make us peanut butter and fluff sandwiches? We need eight of them."

Before Angela could ask why Jane and Maura needed so many sandwiches, she heard the doorbell ring and the sound of children's voices.

"Hi," a little boy said to Angela after she opened the door. "We're here for Jane and Maura's wedding."

"Come in," Angela told them, although she was unsure what her daughter had planned. "Janie, you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Nope," Jane shook her head.

"You can all sit on the couches," Maura told their guests.

Angela narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Janie, I'm going to ask you one more time."

"It's our wedding day," Maura explained. "I know we're not grown ups, but I love Jane and I don't want to wait twenty years. Excuse me, Mrs. Rizzoli. I have to take Jane now so we can get married."

There were five guests at their wedding and Jane would have invited more kids had Maura not insisted on a small wedding. In addition to their five guests was Jane's friend Giovanni who was going to perform their ceremony because he had flattened her favorite basketball and she said he owed her a favor.

It was the moment Jane had waited for. She knew all eyes were going to be on Maura, but her bride needed some good music to walk down the aisle to and that's where her hours of practicing the piano were going to come into play. Jane still knew only a few chords, but she was going to play those chords as best as she could.

Unfortunately, Maura was such a breathtaking sight for little Jane that she couldn't remember any of the chords and pressed random piano keys as she watched Maura walk down the aisle. Her bride was now waiting for her in front of the fireplace which they had designated as their altar and Jane double-checked her pockets for the ring before she headed toward her bride.

Maura's wedding ring was plastic and purchased from a fifty-cent machine at the supermarket, but it was purchased with Jane's hard-earned fifty cents that was paid to her after she dried the dishes, so Maura considered it the most beautiful ring anyone had ever worn.

"Do you have any vows?" Giovanni asked.

"My Maura," Jane began. "I loved you since that day you let me use your red crayon after I broke mine and I promise to love you forever and ever and ever."

"Jane," Maura said as she held Jane's hands. "I promise to always love you and share my toys and fruit snacks with you and let you be Bass's other mommy."

There was nothing for Giovanni to read off of, so he tried to remember bits and pieces of wedding ceremonies that he had seen on TV to help him perform their ceremony. After Jane and Maura placed the rings on each other's fingers, Giovanni shifted his focus to the guests. "Is there anyone who is not cool with this? Say something now."

"Everyone is okay with it," Jane said, impatiently. "Hurry, I wanna be married to Maura now."

"Okay," Giovanni said. "I now pronounce you both...hot."

"Giovanni!" Jane and Maura said in unison.

"I now pronounce you both wife and wife," he corrected himself. "Now you can kiss the bride."

Jane looked over at Maura. Her wife had already puckered her lips and was waiting for her to kiss her. As much as Jane loved Maura, the thought of kissing someone on the lips had never appealed to her. _But she's my wife now and kissing her might be fun. Okay, I'll kiss her._

Jane's lips were no more than two inches away from Maura's when she noticed her mom standing in the living room entryway. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli! I said absolutely no kissing girls for another ten years!"


	13. Holding Hands

**Prompt from KathleenDee: The first time they hold hands.**

Throughout her Kindergarten experience, Jane had held hands with countless little girls during games like Ring Around the Rosie and Red Rover yet she had never held hands with Maura, her girlfriend of two whole days whom she had asked to be hers on a Monday while giving her a bag of shark-shaped fruit snacks.

Although they were a couple, Maura said she wasn't ready to take the next step in their relationship and hold hands and Jane was somewhat grateful for Maura's hesitation. Just the thought of holding hands with Maura made her palms sweat and the butterflies in her tummy go into overdrive. _Stop it, butterflies_, Jane would say to herself as she patted her tummy. _I know Maura is pretty but that's enough!_

Another two days had passed without Maura showing interest in holding hands and, that night, a lack of hand-holding in their relationship had started to weigh on Jane's mind as she cuddled her teddy bear in bed. _Tomorrow, I'm going to ask if she wants to hold hands_, Jane promised herself. _Even if my hands feel sweaty._

The next day at school, Jane constantly wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans as she worked up the nerve to hold Maura's hand. _It's Friday. If you don't hold her hand today, you'll have to wait until Monday and that's a long time from now._

When recess approached, Jane had every intention of making her move, but she stalled by playing on the slide and riding the tricycle. During her third turn down the slide, she noticed Maura standing at the bottom with her arms crossed. Jane had little experience with relationships, but one thing was certain, when her girlfriend's arms were crossed and she was staring straight at her, it meant trouble.

"Do you still want to be girlfriends?" Maura asked.

Little Jane attempted to climb back up the slide, but resistance was futile. With every frantic attempt she made, her arms would get tired and she'd slide down yet again. "Yeah," Jane said nervously.

"Then why won't you play with me?"

"Because girlfriends are scary!" Jane blurted out. "You make me feel things and all I wanna do is hold hands but my hands get sweaty because of you and I don't know if you're ready to hold hands and—"

"I"m ready to hold hands," Maura interrupted her.

"Me, too," Jane looked at the dirt on the palms of her hands. "No, I'm not."

Without offering an explanation, she ran as fast as she could to the girls' bathroom and covered her tiny palms with antibacterial soap. Jane had used more soap than necessary but she continued to rub her hands together underneath the faucet until every speck of dirt was gone.

"Clean hands just for you," Jane said as she proudly showed off her dirt-free hands to her girlfriend.

"You can hold my hand now," Maura insisted. She made no effort to grab Jane's hand, so Jane realized it was all up to her. _Girlfriends are weird, _Jane thought but that thought left her mind the moment she held Maura's hand. _Maura has soft hands and she smells like fruit snacks. I love having a girlfriend._

Jane refused to let go of Maura's hand until the end of recess and it wasn't long before holding hands became Jane's favorite thing to do. _I just hope she doesn't want to kiss next. Yuck!_


End file.
